Officer Outliers!

“We have a precious resource we should be tapping” suggests Joe Noland.

There’s an interesting book making the rounds titled Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. In it, among other things, he repeatedly mentions the “10,000-Hour Rule,” claiming that the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a certain number of hours.

In addition, other studies have also shown that excellence at a complex task requires a minimum level of practice, and experts have settled on 10,000 hours as the magic number for true expertise. Gladwell quotes neurologist Daniel Levitin as follows:

“In study after study, of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice-skaters, concert pianists, chess players, master criminals, this number comes up again and again. Ten thousand hours is equivalent to roughly three hours a day, or 20 hours a week, of practice over 10 years… No one has yet found a case in which true world-class expertise was accomplished in less time. It seems that it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve true mastery.”

To put this into context, think of it in Salvation Army officership terms. For example, there are certain skill sets that must be learned and practiced in order to become a successful corps officer. This carries over into a host of specialized appointments, the corps officer skill set being foundational to all. It occurs to me that there are a host of retired officers with world-class officership expertise (do the math), whose practical and consulting skills are not being tapped sufficiently. Confession time! Looking back, as a TC, I too unconsciously overlooked this prestigious and potentially prolific pool of TSA “Outliers” (Unfortunately, the book wasn’t published then to nudge me).

This Gladwell induced insight has led me to compile and edit the August/September issue of Journal of Aggressive Christianity (JAC) with this “Outlier” theme in mind: “CHARGE! Looking Back. Facing Forward: 5 Wise Words of Counsel.” The writer contributors are all successful retired TSA officers.  The “Foreword” establishes the theme: http://www.armybarmy.com/jac.html

 Coincidentally (or is it?), Commissioner Jim Knaggs touches on the Army’s use of consultants over at TCSpeak: http://tcspeak.com/blog/2010/07/28/consulting/. Another word for “consultant” might be “Outlier.” Who knows the Army better than its retired officers with, perhaps minimally, 40-50,000 hours of practice each? They are specialists in their field. Read carefully what Knaggs has to say because it is very important. In part he writes, “Nor can we rely so much on outside consultant(s) that we ignore our own perspective or mission priorities” (The paraphrase is mine). Although outside objective consultation is valuable, in certain circumstances, let us not minimize the consultative expertise (Outliers) within our own ranks.

Following is but one example out of many. Rob Birks writes on his FaceBook thread:

“My Dad, Major Daniel H. Birks, turns 80 this Sunday. He leaves the next day to cover a Corps (Church) in Oklahoma for an indefinite period of time. Way to not retire from full-time ministry Dad!”

That DC in Oklahoma is a wise man. First hand, I can tell you that Dan Birks was (is) an extremely successful corps officer with world-class expertise, having been one (C.O.) most, if not all of his active officership years. The title, Outlier, fits him to a “TSA.” He would also be an invaluable, consultative resource to young, fledgling corps officers. And he’s not alone! In the above-mentioned “Foreword” I write:

 ”Retirement is really a misnomer, isn’t it? As is the term “active service,” especially in TSA circles. You do not turn off “accumulated knowledge and experience” like a water spigot; it keeps on flowing with two possible outcomes: Down the drain or, like the water flowing through Hoover Dam, channeled into power - creative, productive energy.”

 Oklahoma? Why is it that the Southern Territory keeps tapping our valuable resources? Go get ‘em, Commissioner Knaggs!

 

Writer: Commissioner Joe Noland’s ministry can be summed up in three words: chaos, creativity and controversy - three elements implicit in any successful innovative endeavor. Cecil B. DeMille, renowned producer of Biblical epics, once wrote, “Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.” Joe’s mantra reads, “Creativity is my drug of choice.”  Access Joe Noland’s complete bio, among other things, by clicking into his website.

4 Comments to Officer Outliers!

1. Interesting post… I’m not sure I actually like the term itself. Sounds a bit like “outsider” or similar, but the concept is very significant.

   I’ve said for a while that Officers don’t really “retire” they just become “freelance”. I’m a while off my retirement and look on with admiration at many “retired” Officers who have paved the way for me and the rest of the current bunch. Hope I can learn from them and not drop the ball…

   Adam C.
Adam Couchman on August 6th, 2010

2. Outliers was one of the best book I read last year. It made me think in a different light but I never attached it to retireds. Good catch!

   Deborah
Deborah on August 11th, 2010

3. 10,000 hours of practice assumes competence in the discipline and the personal resources to succeed. It represents 5 years of 40 hour weeks focussing on one discipline. In the TSA we seem to readily embrace outside consultants as ‘experts’ while ignoring the knowledge and expertise that resides within - whether in active or retired, soldier or officer.

   Graham
Graham on August 23rd, 2010

4. I’ve always thought it odd that Salvation Army clergy retire. I grew up in a Southern Baptist Church and the pastors rarely retired. They would preach and pastor a church until they died or were physically unable to do the work, even then they would often have an assistant pastor who pastored while they did what they could. “There are no discharges in this War,” so why are there retirements when the battle is so intense and in need of faithful officers? I realize the elderly officers in the army cannot be moving every 2 to 5 years as is normal in the USA Territories but they can certainly be assigned to positions within corps and Divisonal and Area Commands. Who said that there cannot be a retirement salary but worded and constructed as something different that allows for reassignment at more permanent posts?

   Abraham G.
Abraham G. on August 26th, 2010

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